


Steal my heart

by mirkwood131



Series: EXO Central [7]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Byun Baekhyun & Do Kyungsoo | D.O Friendship, Byun Baekhyun-centric, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Minor Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Jongin | Kai
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-13
Updated: 2018-01-18
Packaged: 2019-03-04 07:43:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13359714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mirkwood131/pseuds/mirkwood131
Summary: Baekhyun's new neighbor likes to take showers in his bathroom. Baekhyun likes to see him wearing only a small towel around his waist each time.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> As of late, I've been writing only extremely sad fics, so I thought that I should go back on track and write a funny one once again, since these are the ones that I enjoy the most. I'm not extremely sure where this is going, but I have a slight idea in my mind, which seems rather fun. 
> 
> enjoy:)

Byun Baekhyun-professional dish breaker and loud snorer-considers, without any drop of exaggeration, that his new neighbor is a total and utter jerk.

Truth be told, even himself admits that making an informed opinion takes more than 3 seconds, but he can already feel what’s about to come. Loud music, too popular people near his apartment-that might even make him want to be cool-loud sex, but the general consensus is that everything will be loud. Baekhyun is certain of that.

Don’t even ask him what in fact made him reach this particular conclusion. Maybe only the too expensive looking leather jacket and thundering shutting of the front door.

He has a knack for reading people-wrongly-and never changing his opinion of them. It makes sense, considering that he adores constants.

So, when the new neighbor named Park Chanyeol moved in next door, Byun Baekhyun was less than pleased.

The apartment hasn’t been inhabited for over two years, for different reasons, one of them being the price. Baekhyun’s is a rather small one room one, where he barely has any space to stretch his limbs or have a fly buzz inside.

But, whether or not he is happy with where he lives, he is not the one to change that. As I’ve mentioned before, Baekhyun despises change, but somehow, change chases him like a barking dog in a park on a rainy day.

“Fuck!” the next door neighbor shouts, causing Baekhyun to drop the pen on the floor not before making a long, winding line on the paper he is grading. And yes, he is a high school math teacher.

“Fuck this crap…” Baekhyun says, retrieving the lost object and staring at it in disbelief.

Maybe his initial opinion was far too kind, in the end.

After two more minutes of profusely contemplating the meaning of life, he hears a knock at his door. At the same exact door he locks 4 times, just to be sure.

“This is exactly what I needed.” he sighs, giving another glance to the tome of papers he is supposed to finish by tomorrow.

He is sure that his students don’t want to receive the grades, just as much as he doesn’t want to see their sad faces when they receive the fours and fives.

“What?!” he asks, opening the door with too much force, so it hits him right above the most sensitives parts.

“My…pipe exploded?” the next door neighbor says, shifting from one foot to another. “Not that kind of pipe. But the one from the bathroom and I was wondering-”

“I’m a math teacher, not a plumber.” Baekhyun says, on the verge of shutting the door close in the stranger’s face.

“Can I use your shower?” the man asks and Baekhyun finally closes it without any remorse.

Or a drop of it, because he opens it right back, sighing and rubbing his injured hip bone.

“5 bucks.”

“What?”

“5 bucks and you can use my shower.” he says, considering that for disrupting his quiet life, it is indeed a small price.

“Are you serious?”

“Of course not. It’s 10 bucks for you.” Baekhyun smiles, on the brinks of laughter. Not even him is quite sure whether or not he is serious or not.

The other eventually bursts out in laughter, touching Baekhyun’s shoulder in the meantime.

“You are funny.”

“I’m not.” Baekhyun mumbles, knowing that he has lost the fight. Or the imaginary one at least.

“I’ll be back in 2.” the man says, sprinting towards his apartment with a huge grin on his face.

Baekhyun looks back at the papers that are waiting for him and wonders what he did wrong to deserve any of this. Or, after all, the too loud neighbor who haunts his life like a bad ghost.

“And I’m back.” the other says, waving a very white and fluffy towel before Baekhyun’s eyes

“I can see that.” he says, letting him step inside his apartment. “It’s right on the left.”

“Thanks, dude.” he says and Baekhyun feels like not even the tome of papers thrown into his head would erase his frustration.

“Dude… dude. Really?” he mumbles as the door to the bathroom closes and he is left all alone in his kitchen-hallway concoction.

With a heavy sigh, he sits once again onto the uncomfortable chair and picks up from where he left the tests: “4×4=20. Fabulous.” he says, writing a 4 in red letters.

The water starts running in the bathroom and Baekhyun starts praying to all the gods he doesn’t know but wishes he did. The bill is already too expensive for his pockets.

But the  _damn water_ keeps running for a total of 15 minutes, which is more than Baekhyun would allow himself to use it for.

The door opens and he suddenly realizes that he hasn’t graded another test; he has only thought about how much money he’ll eventually have to pay for being a good neighbor.

“I’m Chanyeol, by the way.” the other says, extending a hand. He only has the white towel wrapped around his middle.

Baekhyun doesn’t even want to admit that the guy actually looks too good to be true or that a too good to be true guy is halfway naked in his kitchen.

“And I’m busy.” he mumbles, halfway trying to sit and halfway to stand up. It results in him tripping and Chanyeol catching him.

“Careful.” the man laughs, still holding his arm.

“That was deliberate. And you should put some clothes on.” Baekhyun says, hyper aware of how warm and  _freaking amazing_  the other’s skin feels on his own.

“Sorry. Yeah. I should. But what’s your name? I did not catch it.” Chanyeol asks once again as he picks his discarded items from the bathroom. The question asked is whether or not he will get dressed with them right in front of Baekhyun.

“It’s written on the front door.” Baekhyun quickly says, pushing Chanyeol through it as quickly as he can, before he takes the towel off in front of his eyes. “I need to grade papers and you need to change in your apartment. Bye-bye.” He shuts it close and sighs.

That was at the limit. Or the closest he has been to a boner in the past month. Even though Baekhyun still has the same not so positive opinion about the other, he cannot deny the fact that he looks good. Too good for things to actually be good.

Tall, nice hair, pouty mouth and abs. That’s exactly how all the guys at work are not. Short, fat and married. Except for one, who is still short but none of the above mentioned. And his best friend, to top it all off.

“Come to your senses. Never let your neighbors inside. Never.” he says, picking the pen once again. The numbers don’t even make sense anymore.

Another knock at the door.

“Damn you, Chanyeol-oh, Mrs. Dale. Of course I didn’t see your cat.” he says and closes the door in her face too.

The day passes with only 20 other papers graded and more minutes of daydreaming about smooth abs and neck kisses than anything else that might touch the realm of productiveness.

Because Byun Baekhyun likes constants and because after his last break up, 5 years ago, he hasn’t dated since. So, after 5 years, disrupting his quiet and peace would be a total torture.

Or that’s what he thought before he saw his new neighbor. Park Chanyeol.

The next day he wakes up with a mild headache, a tome of ungraded papers and his neighbor at the front door with the same dumb/beautiful smile on his dumb/beautiful face.

“Your name is Baekhyun.” he says and the other feels like slapping his own face. “Do you happen to have some toothpaste? It seems like I lost mine while moving.”

“Of course. Toothpaste and everything else you might need.” he says, going straight to the bathroom to grab an unopened tube. You never know when your current one runs out, so it is totally normal to have other 2 new boxes laying around.

“Here. A welcoming gift. Toothpaste.” Baekhyun says, pushing it in the other’s hands. “Now, if you excuse me, I must go to work.” he says and shuts the door close, locks it and sprints by him, down the stairs without even looking back.

To his happiness, he only lives 5 minutes away from the school he’s teaching at, so when he eventually arrives, he realizes that he forgot his briefcase. “Damn it!” Even though he could definitely go back, he chooses not to.

“There might be kiddos around.” a voice says from behind him.

“I don’t care, Kyungsoo. I really don’t right now.” he says, turning around.

“Coffee?”

Baekhyun takes the cup from the other’s hand, and even though it is the second for the day and the headache hasn’t yet passed away like all of his dreams to actually be a rock star, he still intends to drink it all.

“You look like raccoon crap.” Kyungsoo says with a smile.

“Thank you.” he mumbles. If it weren’t for his new neighbor…

“Also, you should’ve had the papers graded by now.”

“And I don’t, so don’t even talk about it.” Baekhyun takes the last sip and puts the cup on the table. Maybe drinking the second coffee wasn’t such a brilliant idea as he thought.

“When they fire you, I won’t let you move in with me.” Kyungsoo leaves, letting Baekhyun be all alone with his thoughts and headache.

The entire day passes as slow as a turtle with a stick and when Baekhyun eventually throws himself on his own bed, he realizes that one of the springs is pushing into his spine. And maybe it’s even the annoying constant knocking at his door that he tries to ignore, or even his stomach grumbling.

He walks towards the front door to be face to face with Chanyeol once again. More exactly face to chest, considering the height difference.

“I cooked. Do you want to have dinner avec moi? Nothing weird or gay, though. Just from a new neighbor to an old neighbor.” Chanyeol says, with a huge grin on his face, holding two plates with steaming carbonara pasta.

“Sure…why not?” Baekhyun says more to himself since he didn’t even bother to check if he had anything eatable in his fridge. Chances are that he doesn’t.

There aren’t many options in his apartment, so they both sit at the table, right next to the ungraded papers that seem to be staring at him and gossiping right in front of his face.

“Still haven’t finished those?” Chanyeol points towards them.

Baekhyun shakes his head, thinking that these are better than what he can cook on a good day. He doesn’t even want to think about the bad ones.

“I can help you, if you want. You give me the solutions and then I grade.” Chanyeol says, gesticulating with his fork. Some sauce lands exactly on a test.

“Sure. Why not?” Baekhyun says, thinking that at this point in his life, nothing can become weirder. “The food is good, by the way.”

Chanyeol grins at him and Baekhyun thinks for a moment that he looks surprisingly young. Dubiously too young. But then, some people age very slow.

“So…how old are you?” Baekhyun asks him, as they are both sitting on his bed, with a handful of papers for each on their laps.

“25. You? And don’t tell me I’ll find that on the door too.” Chanyeol laughs, and Baekhyun does too.

“27.”

“So it’s not written. How unfair of you.” Chanyeol pouts, scribbling a big 7 on the paper. The highest grade the entire day.

Baekhyun thinks that Chanyeol is beautiful, which makes his stomach churn in anxiety and slight frustration. After his breakup with the only person he thought he’ll love his entire life, he decided that he’ll metaphorically lock his heart and never let anyone in.

All in all, Baekhyun isn’t the person to believe in love at first sight, either but the facts prove him the contrary.

“You are the Grinch.” Chanyeol says after a while. “And I’m anything else but not the Grinch.”

Baekhyun laughs thinking that other times a nickname would have annoyed him to no ends. He even surprises himself at how much he enjoys Chanyeol’s company.

“Are you 5?” he raises an eyebrow, but lets it slip.

“You should give me a nickname.”

“I’ve only known you for a day.” Baekhyun shakes his head in disbelief. “Puppy.”

“I like it. But you must admit that I’m extremely friendly and you extremely sarcastic.” Chanyeol says, scribbling another grade on a paper.

Maybe, Baekhyun thinks, things are moving too fast and he isn’t even sure that the other is into guys at all.

“What am I paying you for?” Baekhyun laughs, slapping Chanyeol over the arm.

“Are you?”

“I let you use my shower, puppy.” he says, cringing at the use of the nickname. Things you do in the name of a stupid infatuation that will go away like everything else in his life.

“Talking about showers…can I use it tonight too?” Chanyeol asks, looking straight into Baekhyun’s eyes.

“Fiiine.” he says and wonders a couple of hours later, as Chanyeol is only wearing a towel around his waist, why he accepted so quickly.

“You haven’t told me where you work.” Baekhyun says, trying to make any sort of conversation that would unglue his eyes from the other’s pecks.

“Uhm-in an office. Really small one-you’ve never heard about it.” Chanyeol says, shifting from one foot to another.

“You don’t have to be embarrassed. My job is not so much better.” Baekhyun says, patting his shoulder.

Chanyeol finally leaves, letting Baekhyun wish he has stayed a while longer. That damn towel around his waist, though.

“Where the fuck are those 5 bucks?! They must have fallen from my pocket…I’m an idiot.” Baekhyun mumbles to himself as he ends up fishing some money from his jar a mercy: a literal jar filled with coins and sometimes dollar bills that he receive as exchange. And the ones he finds on the ground.

“I shouldn’t fall for him so quickly, should I?”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shorter chapter, but for a reason; i think the next one will be longer, but it depends on how much time i have to actually sit and write. 
> 
> enjoy:)

Baekhyun opens the front door while he keeps trying to stop the dumb smile from forming on his face. He successfully fails when he sees Chanyeol right in front of him-he is attempting to lie to himself and say that it’s because of the two pizza boxes he is holding; or maybe because of the inviting food smell.

“Extra mozzarella and ketchup.” Chanyeol says, waving them before the other’s nose.

It’s been 4 weeks since Chanyeol has knocked at his door and asked him to take a shower at his place. Only 4 weeks, and the strange routine that formed between them, seems to have stuck. Chanyeol bringing food and eating it with Baekhyun on his bed while sometimes helping him grade some papers.

On the other, more unfortunate hand, Baekhyun has yet to find the courage to test the waters.

“We could watch a comedy. I’ve been in the mood for one.” Baekhyun says, plopping himself on the bed.

“I suppose you are out of tests?” Chanyeol laughs, receiving a slipper right in the head.

Baekhyun thinks that this-and others-might be the reason why nothing more than a hug has happened between them. Or only because Chanyeol sees him only like a friend.

“Eat before it gets cold, Grinchy.” Chanyeol shoves a slice into Baekhyun hands.

“Grinchy?”

“To rhyme with puppy.”

“It doesn’t rhyme, you idiot.” Baekhyun says, taking a bite.

He feels comfortable around him, so comfortable he doesn’t even mind the obnoxious amount of times that Chanyeol showers at his place. Or the fact that he hasn’t seen the other’s apartment yet. Or that he spends almost every single night in the other’s company.

“But I’m adorable, right?” Chanyeol pouts, staring at him.

“For a 6ft tall giant…you are.” Baekhyun sighs, brushing some greasy fingers through his hair.

“You are adorable too. I mean…I like you. As a friend and neighbor…but I like you.” Chanyeol mumbles and the tips of his ears turn a deep shade of pink.

“I like you too, Chanyeol…” Baekhyun sighs, still unsure of anything. Unsure whether or not Chanyeol likes him more than a friend.

The other coughs, repeatedly, until Baekhyun realizes that he must have chocked on his food.

“Are you okay?”

Chanyeol nods, too rapidly and forcefully and Baekhyun pushes him with his foot until he falls right on his back. Crawling closer and closer to him, he wonders if what he is about to do is the right thing. In his almost nonexistent love and sex life of the last 5 years, Baekhyun didn’t get the chance to flirt or actually be interested in anyone. And now everything hits him like the water from a broken pipe.

But, after a couple more scared heartbeats, his face is hovering over Chanyeol’s.

“I like you. A lot. But not as a friend.” he says, gulping down.

Chanyeol keeps looking up at him with a small pout on his lips and finally, Baekhyun closes the distance and kisses him lightly.

“Did I…”

“I like you too. Can you…” Chanyeol whispers, looking at Baekhyun lips and the latter laughs.

So, in the end, all his fears were unjustified. Chanyeol is in fact into guys. Into him; not literally, of course.

They part away and the other has once again a dumb/beautiful smile on his face.

“I’ve never been with a guy before…” Chanyeol says and in a way, the information makes Baekhyun feel better.

So, to his joy and disappointment, he was wrong about him: he is no jerk.

“Then you can be with me…”

He knows it sounded cringey, but he couldn’t help the words from coming out.

“I’d love to…” Chanyeol smiles, running his fingers over the contours of Baekhyun’s face.

He knows he has been falling way too fast for his new neighbor, so fast that now even if he wanted, he couldn’t stop the avalanche of feelings (and needs).

“So…now we’ll have couple names?” Chanyeol asks, standing up and taking another slice of pizza.

“I think puppy is enough for you.” Baekhyun laughs.

“But Grinchy is totally not cute or ado-”

“It’s perfectly fine.” Baekhyun says, trying to shove the remaining of the slice in his mouth.

“Babe would-”

“Don’t even think about it.”

The night ends up like most of them, with Chanyeol taking a shower in his bathroom, but to his surprise, after that, he doesn’t hurry to go back to his apartment. He goes to take Baekhyun into a tight hug and sniffle at his hair.

“Can I sleep here tonight?” Chanyeol asks and Baekhyun thinks that this would break a couple of steps in their relationship. But, after all, they have already broken so many boundaries.

He quickly discovers that Chanyeol is a heavy sleeper and cuddler. So much so, that at some point during the night, he needed to throw the blanket off of him of how warm he felt.

And Chanyeol didn’t even stir in his sleep, not even when the snoring got especially bad. I the end, he thinks that he is a good match.

“Good morning, puppy.” Baekhyun says, ruffling the other’s hair.

“Hey…” Chanyeol whispers, leaving a soft kiss onto his cheek. “You look adorable in the morning…” he continues, kissing the tip of his nose.

“Is this your plan?”

“What plan?”

“All this sugary talk…only for my shower.” Baekhyun raises an eyebrow.

Chanyeol looks surprised for a moment, his eyes becoming even bigger.

“I was just kidding, puppy.” Baekhyun laughs, kissing the other on the lips this time.

“I know.” Chanyeol laughs.

Their Saturday morning passes rather quickly, with Baekhyun trying to find something in his fridge that would pass for eatable. Chanyeol kisses him from time to time, on his cheeks, forehead, nose or lips and Baekhyun does the same or hugs him tight. It somehow feels comfortable and normal, like a continuation of what they’ve had before.

“Tonight my friends are coming over.” Baekhyun says, chewing on his sandwich.

“You have friends?”

“You jerk of a puppy. I have 2, actually. And you are the third.” Baekhyun says with a smile.

“I thought I was your boyfriend.” Chanyeol pouts and Baekhyun feels the need to brush the fingers through his hair.

“That’s the bonus.” Baekhyun laughs, feeling his heart swell with affection. The last time this happened, he found the object of his affection in bed with someone else.

“So I can’t come over to bring you food and grade tests?” Chanyeol asks and Baekhyun really thinks that the other looks upset.

“Tomorrow?”

“It sounds good to me.” Chanyeol smiles and hugs him even closer to his chest.

The night falls rather quickly, and with it come Kyungsoo and Jongdae, with too much beer and no food at all, except for some pretzels.

“So, how’s going on with that hot new neighbor?” Jongdae asks, taking a loud sip from the can.

“Good.”

“Dry humping good?” Jongdae laughs and Baekhyun throws a slipper in his direction. It misses his head.

“In all honesty…it’s extraordinary that your Ice Age ice berg is actually melting off.” Kyungsoo says from his spot on the bed. “I don’t even want to know what you two do on this bed.” he scrunches his nose, lifting his fingers from their initial spot, up onto his leg.

“We’ve been together for a day and nothing happens. I’m taking it slow.” Baekhyun mumbles, feeling as if he is at an interview.

“As slow as giving me those 20 bucks?” Jongdae laughs.

“Fuck! I forgot about those. I put them right underneath the freaking jar.” Baekhyun says, grabbing it but underneath it, there’s just the wood. “That’s weird. I put them here the other day…” he says to himself.

“This is called Alzheimer.” Kyungsoo says, having a handful of pretzels that he keeps as hostages.

“But they were there!”

“Just say that you don’t want to give my money back.” Jongdae says, giving Baekhyun a glance that makes the latter want to punch something. Preferably, the other’s head and with something heavy.

“I’m actually not insane, you know?!” Baekhyun shouts, pacing around. The disappearance of the money is actually driving him insane, if he thinks about it.

“Ask your students and they’ll say otherwise.” Kyungsoo laughs and Baekhyun throws a pillow in his direction. It reaches its target.

“Are you five?” Kyungsoo says, catapulting the object exactly into the other’s chest.

“I swear I put the money right there.” Baekhyun mumbles, but Jongdae only mockingly nods at him.

“As you say, babes.”

“Why don’t you invite your boyfriend over?” Kyungsoo asks and Baekhyun is certain that the alcohol has already hit his neurons.

“Because. And he’s always over at my apartment. Isn’t that a little bit too much?” Baekhyun asks even though, at the current state of tipsiness, he knows he won’t receive a coherent answer.

“What bad one more night can do?” comes the response and when Chanyeol eventually knocks at his door, he doesn’t think that too much. Until the morning comes, but that’s another story, right?

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the shorter chapters are much more manageable for me at this point-because I'm too tired and busy to write something longer, really  
> but, this fic is quite short, so I could have finished it from two longer chapters anyways  
> song recom: [ Don't go-EXO](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7I7HbWtstY)
> 
> enjoy:)

“The floor is lava!!” Jongdae yells, rapidly jumping on the chair next to him. “Kyungsoo, you’ve lost a leg. Or both but I’ll be a lovely God of Lava, so it’s only one.” he continues, poking the tongue at him.

After too many beers and a bottle of vodka appearing out of nowhere (in fact out of Jongdae’s backpack), the atmosphere in the apartment is worse smelling than before but less awkward or filled with annoyance-aka the storm cloud named Byun Baekhyun.

He is sitting on the bed, right next to a heavy sleeping Chanyeol, who has only managed to drink 3 beers and 4 shots before he passed out. His fingers are brushing through his hair, idly still thinking about his money that have disappeared from his jar of mercy.

“Baekhyuuun! You must change your spot!” Jongdae yells, rearranging himself, this time on the kitchen table with a satisfied grin. “Kyungsoo. You are dead and I win.” Jongdae says but right then, there’s a knock at the door.

“That must be Chanyeol.” Baekhyun says but then quickly realizes that the other’s head is right on his lap.

Kyungsoo sprints towards the entrance and opens as quickly as he can and his placid expression quickly turns into a grin.

“Jongiiiiin!” he yells, followed by an overly excited Jongdae.

“Jongiiiiin! Broooooo! We are totally not druuunk!” he shouts just as loud and sharp, and even with that amount of noise, Chanyeol still doesn’t wake up.

Baekhyun smiles and kisses his head. He truly looks so young. Too young.

“Jooongin. I lovey-dovey-love you so much…” Kyungsoo mumbles wrapping an arm around the other’s waist.

“Kyungsoo. You’re drunk.” he says with a smile.

“Drunk in love.” Kyungsoo pouts at him and Jongdae eventually falls down from the table, right underneath it with a panicked yelp.

“Jongiiiin.”

“You should go to sleep, Kyungsoo.” Jongin laughs, motioning him towards the bedroom.

“But do you love me too?”

“Of course.” the other smiles.

When morning eventually comes and Baekhyun wakes up with the worst headache he had in a while, he is certain that inviting Chanyeol over was the worst idea he could have.

Except for the fact that Jongdae is sleeping underneath his table or that Kyungsoo is right between him and Chanyeol on the bed, the apartment looks like a mess.

Discarded bottles of beer and one lonely vodka one, random junk and a Jongin sleeping on one of his chairs.

“Hey. Hello. Are you hangover too?” Baekhyun says, shaking the other a little bit.

“Wha-what?” Jonging mumbles, stirring awake.

“Good. Now take your sleeping beauty to her castle. Or yours.” he says, offering him a not particularly understanding look.

“Kyungsoo?”

“You are an idiot if you cannot see that he’s been salivating after you since…forever?” Baekhyun huffs, wondering how he’ll be able to clean the entire apartment in one single day. Or, in fact, find the motivation to do so.

“He kind of told me that he loves me last night…but he was drunk.” Jongin says, looking stupidly surprised.

“In love. Now take him. And Jongdae, if you can.” he says and after 30 minutes of carrying (struggling to carry) both of them to the car, Baekhyun only has one other person inside his apartment. One that he actually likes.

Still sleeping, covered with a blanket and looking like twelve year old.

“Puppy. Hey. It’s 12'o'clock.” Baekhyun says, lightly shaking him. “Chanyeol. Chanyeollie.” he says, coming closer to him until their faces are inches apart.

“Heeeey…” Chanyeol drags out the words with a dumb smile on his face.

Baekhyun feels like he is falling even deeper down the rabbit hole, seeing the other appear so young and innocent before his eyes. Maybe his Ice Age glacier has finally melted.

“Last night was fun…” he smiles, lifting himself until he gently pecks at Baekhyun’s lips.

“Now I have to clean everything…good thing that the apartment is small enough.” he says.

Chanyeol looks at his face for a while longer before he wraps his arms around his waist, bringing him down over himself.

“Chanyeol…” Baekhyun laughs. “I’m crushing you.”

“You don’t. I like you so so much.” Chanyeol whispers, kissing Baekhyun’s hand. “You make me happy.”

“Chanyeol.” he says, feeling himself turn red and frightened. Maybe, not even after 5 years he has moved on. Or forgave.

“Tell me you feel the same. Even if you didn’t like me this way…I’d still want to be by your side.” Chanyeol says as Baekhyun shifts into a more comfortable position.

“I do. A lot.” Baekhyun says, kissing the other’s cheeks. They taste salty. Everything seems strangely domestic, as if they were supposed to act like this since forever. It somehow makes him feel at peace even though the rapid pace things are moving at, scares him.

“I need to tell you something.” Chanyeol says after a while but Baekhyun shuts his mouth with a kiss.

“Later, puppy. Later…” he whispers, cupping the other’s face with both hands.

“Baekhyun…”

“Is it so important?” Baekhyun sighs.

“I-I heard…I heard you talking about your missing money…” Chanyeol says, after he gulps down.

“Yes…and? I’m just and idiot.”

“I-I took them.” is all that Chanyeol says.

At first, Baekhyun doesn’t understand the meaning of his words. But rapidly, everything seems to make sense.

“You stole my money?” he yells, rashly standing up.

“Baekhyun. I-”

“What else did you fucking steal? Huh?! I let you in my freaking house so you can rob me behind my back? And you say you like me?” Baekhyun yells, feeling his heartbeat thump in his ears.

“I do care about you! I love you, Baekhyun. I stole them because I don’t have any money. The apartment…I didn’t rent it. I stole the key…that’s why-”

“Get the fuck out! Get out until I call the police!! Get the fuck out of my apartment, didn’t I make myself clear enough??!” Baekhyun says and strides towards the bed.

Even though Chanyeol is taller and stronger than him, this time Baekhyun manages to bring him to his feet without any resistance.

“Baekhyun…I stopped stealing from you. I only did it when I didn’t know how much you’ll mean to-”

“I said to get the fuck out!! I’m calling the cops if you don’t get out.”

“Baekhyun. Please. Let me explain it to you.” Chanyeol says, looking so small and defeated.

“What is there to explain?! Just get the fuck out. That’s all I want from you.” Baekhyun says and when he shuts the door close behind him and locks it 4 times, he knows he should have listened to his first assessment. That Park Chanyeol is an utter jerk who somehow managed to creep into his life.

“Fuuuuck!”

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry that the chapters are so short, but right now I don't have more time to sit and write since I must prepare for my upcoming exams.
> 
> hope you'll enjoy :)

Baekhyun is pacing around the room, right in front of a bored Kyungsoo, sipping with so much calm his morning coffee.

“I can’t actually believe I let him inside my house. I-I trusted him. I liked him, for fuck’s sake!” he yells, kicking a chair with his shoe. “Fuck!”

“Firstly. The Principle might hear you. Secondly, you’re lucky you didn’t let him inside other parts…” Kyungsoo half laughs, but stops when he sees Baekhyun suddenly become angry and red. “Okay. Okay. You should have listened to your intuition. Happy?”

“No. I’m not. He didn’t even give me the money back.” Baekhyun says, thinking that in the meantime he discovered that he was missing 100 bucks and a couple of other less important things too. And that his water bill is higher than usual.

“You’re nuts.” Kyungsoo laughs. “Call the cops.”

“That’s too-”

“Then stop complaining. The guy even told you that he stole from you. An honest thief.”

“Are you fucking serious?” Baekhyun says between clenched teeth.

“Yes.”

And with that, the day passes slower than usual, with far too many declined phone calls from the same person. Park Chanyeol. He isn’t even certain why he didn’t at least delete the number. It even makes him want to throw the device when he sees his name appearing on the screen.

The worst part of everything is that Baekhyun is already down the rabbit hole. So deep that at this point he still cares and likes Chanyeol. As weird as it might sound, he cannot totally despise him.

When he unlocks his door, many many hours later, Chanyeol opens his too and before Baekhyun can hide inside, 5 fingers wrap around his wrist.

“Please. I want to explain everything to you. At least hear out my apology.”

“What apology?” Baekhyun says, trying to set himself free. “You deserve to be in jail. How dare you still live…there?!”

“I will move tomorrow. I promise. But Baekhyun…I never meant to hurt you like this. I didn’t actually think that I will fall in love with you.” Chanyeol says, looking down at their hands.

“I don’t want to hear anything…” Baekhyun sighs and eventually, the other’s hand falls besides his body.

“I will leave…I-” but Baekhyun shuts the door close behind him feeling that if he stayed one more moment in there, he would have eventually forgiven Chanyeol and did something extremely foolish.

“I’m a fucking idiot. He stole from you. Of course he stole from you.” Baekhyun mumbles, hitting his forehead repeatedly.

He is not one to believe in any type of pain treatment, but right at this point, anything would be better than whatever he might be feeling. Rapidly, without even thinking much actually, he opens the front door once again, hoping that for whatever reason, Chanyeol is still standing in the hallway.

And he is.

“Baek-”

“How old are you?”

“What?!”

“How old are you?”

Chanyeol stares at him for a couple of seconds and it finally downs on him. The realization that he lied to him about other matters too.

“19…”

“Are you actually kidding me? 19?!! 19 and a thief? Where the heck are your parents?” Baekhyun says, feeling sweat dripping down into his boxers.

At least he is legal. At least.

“My parents kicked me out. Some months ago. When they found out about me…stealing various things…” Chanyeol says, staring down at his feet.

Baekhyun can’t help but feel a certain way about all of this. Sorry.

“You are a big big idiot.” it’s what he says instead, thinking that acting to warm towards him wouldn’t make their situation any better.

“Where are you going to live now?” Baekhyun asks before he can even stop himself.

“I hope that with friend…if their parents are okay with that…”

“To steal from their houses too?”

He knows the question was a low blow, but he couldn’t help it.

“I’m trying…to stop myself from doing that. Baekhyun. I mean-Mr. Byun. I will pay back the money. I promise. I even have a job.” Chanyeol brightly smiles, making Baekhyun sigh.

Why did he think that the matters will be simpler than this? He has to deal with a 19 year old all over again, as if it wasn’t enough to see 19 years everyday at school.

“We are making a deal. You can live in my apartment. Keep the job. Pay rent and your necessities. Pay me back too and you’ll be fine. I guess.“

“Are you serious?” Chanyeol asks, looking like a surprised and at the same time happy kid.

“No, I’m kidding, Sherlock. But if you steal anything else, I’m calling the cops. Right then. No apologies, no anything. And you’ll see the school’s shrink too. To help you with your little problem.” Baekhyun says, suddenly feeling older than he really is.

Thinking about his own words, he doesn’t know why he did it. Yes, he undoubtedly cares about the idiot, but every time he got hurt, he ran away further and further from the middle of the problem. Until he escaped it.

And now, he is creating a bigger one for himself and he is right in the middle of it.

“But where will I sleep?” Chanyeol asks and Baekhyun thinks that he is making a rather good point. The possibility of sleeping in the same bed is out of the gate so the only sane solution is to buy a couch.

“I’ll buy a couch. But you’ll have to pay for that too…in time.” Baekhyun says, thinking that he is practically getting into more trouble than he needs.

“Got it, sir!” Chanyeol says, acting once again like a ten year old. Baekhyun still cannot understand how he didn’t figure it out earlier.

“Call me Baekhyun, for fuck’s sake.”

“Yes, Baekhyun.”

And so, after 3 hours of carrying different boxes filled with stuff belonging to Chanyeol and trying to fit everything in his cramped apartment, Baekhyun throws himself on the bed.

“You know I have nowhere to sleep right now, right?” Chanyeol yawns, stretching his limbs on what’s left of the bed.

“Here…we’ll figure everything else tomorrow…”

“Are you mad?” Chanyeol whispers.

“Tired.”

“So are we fine?” he asks and when Baekhyun is tucked in his own bed, with Chanyeol lightly snoring next to him and an arm wrapped around his middle, he is certain that absolutely nothing is fine.

Or the fact that he lets a teenage delinquent live with him in the same apartment and same bed. He doesn’t know what really made him change his mind. Or maybe he does. He isn’t sure at all.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had an hour to spare so I wrote the second to last chapter. I didn't expect this turn of events to be honest, but today I found a couple of songs that I used to listen throughout highschool and they were all sad ones. Actually, my mood today is rather depressingly bad...  
> But don't fret. The ending will be a happy one :)
> 
> hope you'll enjoy :)

The first thing Baekhyun notices when he wakes up is the fact that he is warm. A good type of warm, by all means, that one that makes you not want to rise from the bed. It’s also too comfortable, snuggled underneath the blanket with an arm wrapped around his middle.

He turns around and without actually putting much thought into it, he gently lays a kiss onto Chanyeol’s lips. And then, everything downs on him. Or more so, the fact that the other is 8 years younger than him. 19!

“Fuck!” he mumbles, but it’s too late because Chanyeol stirs awake and brings Baekhyun even closer to his body. “Let me go, you idiot!” he almost yells and rushes out of the bed, straight into the bathroom, since that is the only other room with a door.

“He’s 19…a little thief. You are the adult. You teach 19 year olds. You are no pervert. Of course I’m not. I did not know that he’s this young and-”

“Baek-Mr. Byun…are you alright?” Chanyeol asks and Baekhyun realizes that letting the other live with him was the worst possible idea. Especially when only 3 days ago he actually had the biggest urge to bed him.

Not so innocent thoughts, after all.

“Yeah. Just-you know. Got to pee and other stuff.” he says.

“Okay…today are we going couch shopping together? I finish work at 6 thirty actually. I could meet up with you at Ikea or something…if you still want to, of course.” Chanyeol says, his tone changing from happy and excited to unsure.

And Baekhyun knows it’s all his fault.

“It’s perfect. At 7 we meet at Ikea. And we could eat there too.” he says.

Maybe he can manage everything after all. Act like a responsible adult.

“Sounds good. My treat.” Chanyeol says and Baekhyun cannot help but sigh. All in all, he is a good, but troubled kid.

After the strange morning exchange, Baekhyun hurries up more than usual, afraid of the other’s proximity. So, he’s 30 minutes too early at school.

“You’re more than punctual today.” Kyungsoo laughs.

“I could say the same thing about you.” Baekhyun says without much excitement. Not even the coffee makes him feel better. He still likes the kid. More than he should like a 19 year old.

“Just hiding from Jongin. You?”

“Hiding from Chanyeol.” Baekhyun sighs. “But you go first.”

“Well…Jongin started bringing more and more stuff to my apartment. I mean…it’s nice and all. But damn it, it feels too relationshipy.” Kyungsoo says with a shrug.

“That’s how it is supposed to be…and he cares about you.” Baekhyun says, on autopilot, thinking that he actually has to go shopping with Chanyeol. And act like he didn’t kiss him this morning.

“I’m going couch hunting tonight.” Baekhyun says, putting the cup into the small sink. Perfect for a dwarf. “Chanyeol is living with me. Nonononono. As a roommate who pays rent and everything.” he rapidly says.

“That was quick. Did you two break up…?” Kyungsoo says, pacing around, undoubtedly thinking about his own sentimental problems.

“We…how am I supposed to know? He’s 19! He can’t even drink alcohol.” he mumbles, imitating exactly what his friend is doing.

“Well…if Jongin really moves with me…I don’t have a drawer to free for him. Like, a drawer is too little, right? But…we’ve only been technically dating for…2 weeks. That’s too quick.” Kyungsoo says, stopping for a couple of seconds and the continuing to pace around.

“You tell me. Maybe he thinks that we are still together…”

“Why wouldn’t he? Plus. It’s technically totally legal and excepting the fact that he might steal something from time to time…he seems to be great.” Kyugsoo says and then, a group of teacher enter the room and Baekhyun totally doesn’t feel the need to express his feelings with an audience around them. So, the conversation comes to halt, but both of them seem happy about that. Then, matters would become too complicated and delicate, and the school doesn’t fit the necessary atmosphere for any of that.

The day passes stupidly slow and he actually doesn’t go home until 7'o'clock. He just strolls through a park and then takes the bus to get to Chanyeol’s workplace, which happens to be a book shop.

They have concluded that it’s better to first go to a couple of thrift stores and smaller shops and then to Ikea.

When he walks inside, he immediately spots the other behind the cash register, happily chatting with some customers. But when he notices Baekhyun, the smile and joy fade, being replaced by something else.

And Baekhyun realizes that he indeed has fallen too deep down the rabbit hole.

“Have a nice night, mam! Baek-Mr. Byu-”

“Baekhyun. Chanyeol. It’s still me. I’m no older.” he weakly smiles.

“But I’m much younger than you. I thought about your offer and everything.” Chanyeol says, arranging and rearranging some papers on the desk. “I-I talked to a friend. He doesn’t live here…but he said I could move in with him. He even found me a better paid job.” he says, looking down.

Suddenly, all the strange excitement that Baekhyun has felt the entire day dies down. It’s anti climatic. He’s usually the one to “break up” when he’s hurt. Not the other way around.

“But I said that it won’t be any problem.” Baekhyun manages to say.

“It would be. For me. And for you. I saw it today. I can’t be-I don’t want to…I don’t know how to say it.” Chanyeol shakes his head.

Baekhyun is glad that there are no customers left in the shop anymore.

“It’s not right.” it’s all that he manages to say. “Tomorrow I’ll be leaving. The town is close and…the job won’t be as nice as this one, but at least it will pay better.” he laughs. It’s a sad one.

“But we were supposed to buy a fucking couch.” Baekhyun mumbles.

It feels final and it freaking hurts that indirectly he is being dumped.

“I will give you back the money that I owe…and then. I mean…I could just get the train tonight. I…I’ve put everything that I need in the backpack. You can throw the boxes away and forget about me and everything else. Sorry.” Chanyeol says, pushing a handful of paper bills into Baekhyun’s closed fist.

When he looks down, there are 350 dollars, crumpled in his hand. More than he owed him.

“You only stole 100…what’s the rest for?” Baekhyun asks, feeling the knot forming in his throat.

“The water…last night’s rent. Food…I hope it’s okay.” Chanyeol weakly smiles and Baekhyun nods.

“Well. Good luck, kiddo. Don’t steal from your friend too.” he says but he knows he didn’t want to say any of that. It just came out and he let the words go.

“I won’t. Take care too…” Chanyeol whispers and Baekhyun leaves the shop without looking back.

“It’s better this way.” he thinks. The couch would have been too expensive anyways and Chanyeol’s things are taking up too much space. But Chanyeol takes up too much space in his heart, unfortunately.

 


	6. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> last chapter yuhuu!  
> all in all, I actually like how this turned out. i feel like the ending fits with the uncertainty in Baekhyun's mind and the fear the relationship might not actually work. It leaves room for whatever might actually happen to the two of them. If they only choose to be friends or something more.  
> Also, today I turn 20 and I've been writing for a year straight. How fast time flies.
> 
> hope you'll enjoy and thank you for reading :)

Byun Baekhyun has never thought that he’d find himself in a bus, going to the next town to practically confess his feelings to someone. Or at least, make that someone come back. But he is doing exactly all of that with only 3 hours of sleep in his system.

He isn’t exactly sure whether or not this is the best idea. Or that he will find Chanyeol. Somehow, he has managed to locate his work place: a construction site at the outskirts of the town.

The town is smaller than he has imagined and after asking 2-3 people about it, he figured it out rather quickly that the same site is the only place where something is actually being built. So, in another 30 minutes, he is sitting at its dusty entrance, if you can call it that and wondering what in the world is he doing there.

It’s been 2 months since he has last seen Chanyeol. He even thinks sometimes that the other has found someone else and all of this is pointless. But not even after this much time, has he got rid of all the feelings he had for him. Not even close. It seems like the distance only makes them grow stronger.

And then, looking at the three apartment buildings rising from the ground, he thinks that this will be even harder than he thought.

So, he starts walking, looking around at everybody, but he cannot seem to find a lanky figure anywhere. His lanky guy.

But, after a while, he finally spots him. Mixing something in a bucket, wearing only a thin tank top and some dirty navy pants, covered in sweat. But it is undoubtedly Chanyeol.

“Cha-Chanyeol?”

The figure turns around and Baekhyun doesn’t know what else to say. Chanyeol looks the same but at the same time changed.

“Baekhyun? What are you doing over here?” he asks with surprise on his face.

This is not how Baekhyun has expected things to go like.

“Well…” he trails off, thinking that what he’s just done is plain stupid. “I came here for you…I miss you.”

Chanyeol doesn’t answer, but comes closer to the other.

“I missed you too…Baekhyhun. I really did.” he smiles and this time, he knows it’s an honest one.

“Can you come back? Move in with me? Find a nicer job and…be with me? I-I really like you, Chanyeol. But this place is not for you. It truly isn’t.” Baekhyun says, touching the other’s arm.

“Baekhyun…I would feel-”

“You’d be my roommate. I can buy you a couch if you still want that. Or…we could share the bed. I want you. I really do.” Baekhyun says, coming a step and two closer to him.

“I can’t leave like this…”

“I can wait. Finish this project. Tell your friend you are moving back. I can help you go to college.” he says and squeezes his arm a little tighter. “You can have a nicer and better paid job…I’ll be there for you.”

“Are you sure…? The last time-”

“I am.” Baekhyun smiles and he is certain that he is.

He can take things slow and after all, 8 years is not that much, or is it?

“Then empty a drawer please.” Chanyeol laughs and Baekhyun does too.

He would really want to kiss Chanyeol right now, but there are too many people around. So he doesn’t, only squeezes his arm some more.

“I will. I will.”

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is highly appreciated :)


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